Simple and Easy Care Instructions for HTV Shirts
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It is great to be able to take care of your HTV-decorated garments. You want to take care of it so you can use it longer and show everyone your unique and special shirt design. Here are some simple and easy care instructions for HTV decorated garments that you can do:

Seven Care Instructions for Your Heat Transfer Vinyl Shirts
1. Don’t Wash Your Pre-pressed Shirt Right Away
Do not wash your shirt right away. You should give the HTV decal enough time to cure. If you expose your HTV to water right away, you run the risk of having a cracked or peeled decal. Let the vinyl sit for 24-48 hours until you can wash your shirt.
2. Never Dry Clean
Never expose your T-shirts with HTV to the dry cleaning process. During the dry clean process, you can ruin your HTV decal for the shirt is exposed to harsh temperature and various chemicals.
3. Flip Shirt Inside-Out
It is recommended that you turn your T-shirt inside-out every time you wash and dry garments with HTV. The rubbing movement inside the washing machine may cause abrasions to your HTV.
4. Wash Using Cold or Warm Water
Don’t put shirts with HTV decal in hot water. They should not be exposed to high temperatures exceeding 178°F. Do observe the proper warm water temperature settings. The adhesive capability of the HTV weakens when exposed to harsh temperatures. Choose cold water when washing shirts.
5. Make Use of Mild Detergent
As much as possible, you should use mild detergent when washing your clothes with HTV. It should not contain harmful components specifically for whitening, fight stains, and use on bright-colored shirts. Also, avoid using bleach and fabric softeners.

6. Hang Dry Your Shirt
The ideal method of drying clothes is to hang drying. Though, it is possible to use low heat or tumble dry. Hanging your shirt also aids in minimizing the wrinkles on the HTV after washing.
7. Don’t Iron Directly on the Htv
You should avoid ironing directly over the HTV for this can cause the vinyl to melt or burn. But, if you want to iron the vinyl, place a thin cloth or dishtowel over the vinyl and run through the iron on low heat.
FAQs
How soon can you wash a shirt after applying HTV?
You can wash your shirt with a freshly pressed HTV after 24-48 hours. You need this time to make sure that your HTV has completely cured. Your vinyl may peel or crack if you wash it right away.
How do you wash a heat press shirt?
Hand washing is the recommended way of washing heat press shirts. Turn the shirt inside-out, wash using cold water and use a mild detergent. Let the shirt soak in a small basin for 10 minutes or more. Then, gently stir up the shirt for a few minutes, rinse, and hang to dry.
How do you keep HTV from wrinkling after washing?
You can avoid wrinkles on the HTV decal if you hand dry the shirt after washing. Hanging clothes to dry out is the ideal method of drying shirts with vinyl.
How do you wash vinyl clothes?
You should wash vinyl clothes using cold or warm water. You would also need to flip the shirt inside-out and use a mild detergent. The vinyl may crack or peel if you are unable to wash your shirt properly.
How do you keep a vinyl shirt on after washing it?
To keep the vinyl on after washing makes sure to always wash the shirt only with cold or warm water. You must allow it to hang dry and never iron directly over the vinyl.
Can you machine wash shirts with vinyl?
You can machine wash shirts with vinyl.bur do not use a hot water setting, wash them with cold water machine and the mildest wash setting, or better yet, handwash them. The shirt should be turned inside-out and hung to dry after washing.
Conclusion
TeckWrap Craft offers quality heat transfer vinyl (HTV). However, you can ruin your heat transfer design if you don't know how to take care of it. You must know how to care for your shirts and follow the proper washing instructions. For more tips on using HTV, here are other blogs to read: temperature guide for vinyl and more HTV information.